Welcome to the weekly review of Spice and Wolf (2024)! In episode 18, Lawrence secures a source of pyrite and the morning market bell tolls the start of his duel. Join us as we contextualize the business talk and discuss key differences between the anime, manga, and light novels.
"Goods of Intent and Negotiation of Resolve"
As Spice and Wolf episode 18 opens, Lawrence approaches Batos and convinces him to share what he knows about pyrite suppliers. Batos gives him a pass-phrase that will allow him to conduct business with Diana. At her abode, while Lawrence explains his plight, Diana seems oddly distracted. She eventually agrees to sell him pyrite, but informs him that someone else has already offered to buy from her. Diana refuses to give the name of the buyer and tells Lawrence to wait for her messenger while she negotiates.
Later, Lawrence meets with Marc again, who reveals he’s been able to secure a modest supply of pyrite. The next morning, Lawrence waits at the stone mason’s stock board, when he sees Amati and Holo in the crowd. Amati flaunts his wealth by delivering the payment for the margin certificate in gold coins, leaving Lawrence speechless. The market bell tolls, and Lawrence watches the pyrite board with trepidation.
The Financial Aspect of the Episode
Isuna Hasekura, the author of the light novels, has drawn on his own research to provide a simple but informative look at medieval financial practices. Take the price board depicted in this episode for example. There are images and descriptions of the weight and size of the pieces of pyrite. Prices are written out next to the descriptions and to the right of them are rows of placards with names of buyers. To the left are rows of sellers, which are notably empty.
The anime has, essentially, depicted a primitive stock exchange. Buyers are literally lining up to purchase pyrite, but sellers are holding out to maximize their profit. If Lawrence wants to crash the market, he needs the time when he sells to be just right, but multiple factors are working against him. First he needs to sell before Amati, but he doesn’t know how much pyrite Amati has on hand, nor does he know when Amati will sell. Second, he needs to wait for Marc and Diana to deliver the pyrite he had secured from them, but that amount may be too little or nonexistent in the worst case scenario. Third, he needs to keep an eye on the other sellers and buyers in the crowd. If the market starts moving too soon or too quickly, he may miss his chance. It’s a precarious balancing act.
Review of "Spice and Wolf" Episode 18
Because this anime is adapted from a light novel, the original prose has to be delivered through dialogue and visual story-telling. For whatever reason, the dialogue in Spice and Wolf episode 18 felt lacking. Maybe it’s because, at this point of the story, there’s a lot of repetition and waiting. Lawrence is constantly running back and forth to the same locales. Counting this episode, he has visited Marc on 8 separate occasions, which makes sense given their relationship and Lawrence’s predicament, but it’s tiresome constantly going back to the same row of tents. Granted, Marc does push the plot along in meaningful ways and even helps Lawrence come to terms with his feelings about Holo. His inclusion in the story isn’t wasted, but some variety to the locales would have been nice.
Spice and Wolf (2024) is streaming on Crunchyroll.
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